Giving Priorities

Faculty Support

Endowed Professorships and the State of North Carolina’s Matching Grant Program

Endowed professorships are the most important vehicle for recruiting and retaining talented research faculty. Endowments create funds that are used for salary support and research activities, including graduate assistants, equipment and course development. Through a matching program for distinguished professorships, the North Carolina General Assembly demonstrates its commitment to higher education and the importance that research faculty have on the state, its economy and the education of its citizens.

Levels of Endowed Distinguished Professorships

Through a matching program for distinguished professorships, the state of North Carolina demonstrates its commitment to higher education and the importance that research faculty have on the state, its economy and the education of its citizens. We invite donors to leverage their philanthropy through participation in the program. Gifts are payable over a period of five years.

Endowed Distinguished Professorships

$2,000,000 endowed professorship (private gift = $1,333,000; matching grant = $667,000)
$1,500,000 endowed professorship (private gift = $1,000,000; matching grant = $500,000)
$1,000,000 endowed professorship (private gift = $666,000; matching grant = $334,000)

Graduate Fellowships

Graduate students are primary agents of innovation within research-intensive schools of engineering like ours. Private support is essential to succeeding in the intense competition for top graduate students. Many of these students innovate in ways that can boost North Carolina’s economy for years to come.

Leading LED and semiconductor maker Wolfspeed, Inc., headquartered in Durham, NC, was founded by graduate students who pursued the technological foundation of this revolutionary company in the College of Engineering at NC State.

The minimum level to endow a graduate fellowship, which will be named for the donor in perpetuity, is $500,000.

Merit- and Need-based Scholarships

Endowed scholarships provide donors with perhaps the greatest opportunity to make an impact on the greatest number of lives. These endowments are crucial to our ability to draw the best students from North Carolina and beyond into the College of Engineering, where their education will propel them to become the leaders of tomorrow. An endowment of $200,000 generates annual income roughly equivalent to a full year of tuition and fees. Endowments can be established for a minimum of $50,000.

Dean’s Circle

The Foundation also runs the Dean’s Circle, which secures private support from alumni and friends for scholarships and fellowships.

The Dean’s Circle is a comprehensive recognition society for all unrestricted gifts of $1,000 or more* to the College of Engineering and its departments. As the College’s leadership annual giving program, the Dean’s Circle provides funding to support the number one priority, our students. Providing competitive recruiting undergraduate and graduate scholarships and fellowship awards continues to be the Dean Circle’s main focus. In addition, the Dean’s Circle provides funds necessary to support faculty and undergraduate and graduate programs within the College of Engineering.

We focus our annual fundraising efforts on student support because we consider providing scholarships and fellowships to our most deserving students as vital to the College’s mission, and therefore a priority need. As North Carolina’s flagship engineering school, the College must continue to attract the very highest-achieving students from within the state, while leveraging our national eminence to bring in great out-of-state students to this unique environment for engineering education.

Dean Jim Pfaendtner’s second priority is to have funds readily available to help us meet emerging needs and challenges in order to maintain a competitive edge. The educational experience we create for our students hinges on our ability to attract and retain top professors and to create programs of distinction. Dean’s Circle funds are key to enhancing discovery, learning and innovation in the College.

While we continue to grow our endowment to ensure long-term strength, the generosity our alumni and friends extend through annual participation in the Dean’s Circle allows us to increase our impact on the world today. Donors have the choice of making their Dean’s Circle gift to the College’s general recruiting fund or to designate the gift to support a specific department within the College of Engineering. We invite you join in our effort to educate the future engineering workforce and the leaders of tomorrow.

*The two Young Alumni giving levels (I: $250 and II: $500) were established for alumni who have graduated within the last 15 years, including those in their 15th reunion year. See Levels of Support below.

We recognize the generosity of Dean’s Circle donors by extending to them membership in several giving societies, all of which are named after former NC State Engineering deans of distinction.

Lampe Society $10,000+
Fadum Society $5,000+
Van Leer Society $2,500+
Masnari Society $1,000+
Faculty and Staff $500
Young Alumni II (11–15 years post-graduation) $500*
Young Alumni I (1–10 years post-graduation) $250*

*The Young Alumni giving levels were established for alumni who have graduated within the last 15 years, including those in their 15th reunion year.

Donors can participate in the Dean’s Circle with gifts of $1,000 or greater per year. The College operates on a fiscal year that runs from July 1 to June 30. Gifts are accepted year-round and can be by check, by credit card over the telephone at 919.515.7458 or through our secure online site, or with a transfer of stock. If you would like to designate your Dean’s Circle gift to students of a specific department, please communicate that along with your preferred method of payment. To designate to students of a particular department using the online site, please check the “In support of” box and next to “Name” enter in the department’s name.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Angela S. Martin
Phone: 919.513.1714
Email: anstalli@ncsu.edu

To make your contribution by check, simply write “Dean’s Circle” on the memo line and mail to:

NC State Engineering Foundation, Inc.
Campus Box 7901
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7901

We encourage prospective donors to explore their company’s matching gift policy, which may greatly enhance the level of support you can extend to deserving students. Contact your human resources representative to learn more.

Enhance Academic Programs

Through its many academic programs, the College provides students with a wealth of opportunities to broaden their experiences. Donors can build new opportunities or greatly enhance existing programs to foster collaboration and team-building, and expose students and faculty to new and important ideas.

Fitts-Woolard Hall

A hallmark of any great university is its continuous effort to provide the best possible learning environment for its students—an environment that fosters innovation, encourages entrepreneurship and supports new discoveries that improve our world. To this end, NC State has constructed a marquee new building — Fitts-Woolard Hall — on Centennial Campus to continue the unification of the College on NC State’s premier campus.

Investing in Fitts-Woolard Hall is an investment in the future of engineering at NC State. The state of North Carolina and the university provided much of the funding for the construction of the building. However, the College needs the help of its alumni and friends to raise the remaining funds in order fully pay for this signature project that will impact our students for generations to come. There are opportunities for every level of giving.

The Cornerstone Society

The Cornerstone Society provides an opportunity for you to name a space of your choosing in the new building or in existing engineering buildings on Centennial Campus. Naming opportunities begin at $100,000. As a member of this exclusive society, you will have your name permanently associated with the space of your choosing, and your gift will be recognized in a central location in Fitts-Woolard Hall along with a special recognition biography and photo. In addition, as a Cornerstone Society member, you will receive regular insider updates on the construction and information on the research and education that Fitts-Woolard Hall will house and will be invited to exclusive events, including hard hat tours of the space and the dedication of the new building.

Dean’s Oval Club

The Dean’s Oval Club was created to give the opportunity to more individuals and companies to make an investment in the Fitts-Woolard Hall Project (formerly the Engineering Oval Project). To underscore the importance of supporting Fitts-Woolard Hall, Louis A. Martin-Vega, former dean of the college, and his wife, Mrs. Maggie Martin, gave a leadership gift to launch the new Dean’s Oval Club. Your gift of $50,000 to $100,000 toward the payoff of Fitts-Woolard Hall gives you the honor of membership in this exclusive group of visionaries. As a member of the Dean’s Oval Club, you will receive permanent recognition with a donor profile in a central location in Fitts-Woolard Hall and regular insider updates about the progress of the construction and information about the education and research that will be conducted in the classrooms and labs. Club members are also invited to exclusive events, including hard hat tours of the space and the dedication of the new building.

The Dean’s Young Alumni Oval Club

The Dean’s Young Alumni Oval Club is a special offer that gives our young alumni who are up to 15 years out from graduation the opportunity to make an investment in the Fitts-Woolard Hall Project (formerly the Engineering Oval Project). To underscore the importance of supporting the construction of Fitts-Woolard Hall, Louis A. Martin-Vega, former dean of the college, and his wife, Mrs. Maggie Martin, gave a leadership gift to launch the new Dean’s Engineering Building Oval Club and the Dean’s Young Alumni Oval Club. Young alumni who give $25,000 over five years toward the construction of Fitts-Woolard Hall will receive the honor of membership in this exclusive group of visionaries. As a member of the Dean’s Young Alumni Oval Club, you will receive permanent recognition with a donor profile in a central location in Fitts-Woolard Hall and regular insider updates about the progress of the construction. Members also receive insider information about the education and research that will be conducted in the classrooms and labs. Club members will be invited to exclusive events, including hard hat tours of the space and the dedication of the new building.